The Lover and The Fighter
by Luigi 4ever
Summary: One-shot. After rescuing Peach for the first time, Mario is spending all of his time with her. Feeling left out, Luigi searches for something to do while Mario is with Peach. A poster about a boxing tournament catches his eye. There is a sequel, Flower Power


**Note: this story takes place before Luigi met Daisy**

All characters are owned by Nintendo

Luigi walked down the hall of Peach's castle and knocked on Mario's door. Mario opened the door and said "hey bro, what's up?" Luigi smiled and said "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. Maybe play tennis or go fishing or something." "I'm sorry Luigi" Mario said "I can't, I've got a date with Peach." "Again?" Luigi asked "you two have gone out every day since we saved her from Bowser." "I know Weegie" Mario said "that's because we're in love and we want to spend time together. You wouldn't understand because you've never had a serious relationship." Luigi sighed and said "thanks for reminding me." Mario immediately felt bad and said "I'm sorry Luigi, I shouldn't have said that." "It's fine" Luigi said. Then he turned and walked away. "Where are you going?" Mario asked. "I'm going for a walk" Luigi replied. "Ok" Mario said "be careful." Luigi was walking down the sidewalk, when a poster caught his eye. He walked up to it and it read "the Mushroom Kingdom Boxing League is now accepting new fighters for the middle weight class. A tournament will be held at the gym on Saturday at five o'clock. The top three fighters will be inducted into the MKBL." Luigi smiled and said "maybe I should try out, that would give me something to do while Mario is with Peach." He went to the store and bought a pair of green boxing gloves and green shorts. The next day, Luigi went to the gym to start training. He started to hit a punching bag. A few people gathered around him, amazed at his punching power and speed. When Saturday came, he headed to the gym for the tournament. He got in line to register, when he got to the registration table, a man looked at him and said "name?" "Luigi" he said. "Nickname?" the man said. "I don't have one" Luigi said. "to be in the league you need one" the man said. Luigi thought, then someone behind him said "hey green man, move it. An answering machine gives information faster than you." Luigi smiled, looked at the man behind the table and said "the Green Machine." "Ok" the man said "your number is thirty seven." "Thanks" Luigi said. He walked over and sat on a bench. After an hour, the referee climbed into the ring and said "numbers thirty-seven and thirty-eight to the ring please." Luigi climbed into the ring, another man did too. "Name?" the referee said. "The Green Machine" Luigi said. "Wild Willie" the other man said. "Go to your corners" the referee said. He grabbed the microphone and said "the final match of the first round is about to begin. It will be between the Green Machine and Wild Willie." The bell rang and Luigi and Willie came into the center of the ring. Willie threw a right hook. Luigi jumped back, avoiding the punch. He stepped forward and swung at Willie. Willie blocked it and said "did I just feel a breeze or was that a punch?" Willie punched Luigi in the stomach then in the face twice. "I know who you are" Willie said "you're Mario's wuss of a brother. He's the hero, you're just the sidekick; and now you think you can be a fighter? Well, you won't make it and big brother isn't here to save you." Luigi's face turned red with anger. He stepped forward and landed a hard punch on Willie's jaw, followed by a hard punch to the stomach. Willie took a step back and looked at Luigi. He lunged forward and swung at Luigi. Luigi dodged it and punched Willie as hard as he could across the jaw. Willie fell hard. The referee walked over and began counting. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." Willie didn't get up. The referee raised Luigi's arm and said "the winner is, the Green machine." Luigi won every match and was announced the champion. A tall man in a suit came up to him and said "I'm the commissioner of the boxing league, and I wanted to personally welcome you. You've got some real fire in you Kid. One of our best managers is looking for a new fighter. I'm going to recommend you to him." Luigi smiled and said "thank you, sir." "No problem" the commissioner said "if you keep fighting like you did today and listen to him, you two will go far." "Thanks again" Luigi said. He shook the commissioner's hand and left. He went back to Peach's castle and ran to Mario's room. Luigi knocked on the door. Mario opened it and said "what is it Luigi?" Luigi smiled and said "you'll never guess what I did today." "Probably not" Mario said "because at the moment I don't care. I'm about to go meet Peach's parents and I'm really nervous." Luigi looked at him and said "but Mario, I-" "That's great Luigi" Mario interrupted "tell me later." Then he shut the door in Luigi's face. Luigi sighed and walked toward his room. Peach walked up and said "hi Luigi." "Hey" Luigi said. "What's wrong?" Peach asked. "Nothing" Luigi said. "You can tell me" Peach said smiling "I promise whatever it is it will stay between us." "Ok" Luigi said "I did something today that I was really excited about and proud of. I tried to tell someone, but they just told me they didn't care and shut the door in my face." "Well" Peach said "don't worry about them. If what you did makes you happy, go for it. No matter what anybody else says." Luigi smiled slightly and said "thanks Peach." Peach gave him a hug and said "you're welcome. By the way, have you seen Mario? We are going to my parent's castle tonight." "I think he's in his room" Luigi said. "Thanks" Peach said as she walked away. Luigi went to his room and went to bed. The next morning, Luigi got up early and made breakfast. Mario walked in and said "good morning Weegie." "Good morning Mario" Luigi said. He set two plates on the table. Mario's had bacon, eggs, toast and sausage. Mario noticed that Luigi only had eggs. "Not hungry?" Mario asked. "Nah" Luigi said "besides, I'm going to the gym later so I don't want a full stomach." "Ok" Mario said. "What are you doing on Saturday night?" Luigi asked. "Me and Peach are going on a date" Mario said "why?" "Well" Luigi said "I might be able to get you and Peach tickets to the boxing match this Saturday night." "Thanks Weegie" Mario said "but that's not the kinda place I want to take Peach for a date. We are probably just going to go to dinner or something." "Ok" Luigi said. Mario took a bite of eggs and asked "how would you manage to get tickets to the fights?" "I know one of the fighters" Luigi said. "Oh" Mario said "that's cool." Luigi's phone rang, he answered it and said "hello?" "Hey" the commissioner said "I got you an appointment with that manager I told you about," "Really?" Luigi asked excitedly. "Yes" the commissioner said "he will meet you in the office at the back of the gym at noon. His name is Sam." "Ok" Luigi said "do I need to bring anything?" "Just your boxing gloves and that fire and determination I saw yesterday" the commissioner said "he wants to see what you're made of." "Thank you" Luigi said. "My pleasure" the commissioner said. Luigi hung up and put his phone away. "Who was that?" Mario asked. "A guy I met at the gym" Luigi said "he wants me to meet someone at the gym at noon." "Ok" Mario said "have fun." "Thanks" Luigi said. At noon, Luigi was waiting in the office. A man in a suit walked in. Luigi stood up and asked "are you Sam?" "Yes" he said "you must be Luigi." "Yes sir" Luigi said. Sam smiled and said "you don't have to call me sir, Kid. Now, let's go see what you can do. "Ok" Luigi said. They went out of the office and walked over to a full sized bunching bag. "Go ahead" Sam said. Luigi began punching the bag. "Nice speed" Sam said "keep going." Luigi continued punching the bag. "Alright Kid" Sam said "let's see a power punch. Hit that bag as hard as you can." Luigi drew back and punched the bag as hard as he possibly could. The bag swung high and one of the supports broke. Luigi caught it when it came back down. "Sorry about that" Luigi said "I'll pay to have that fixed." "Don't worry about it Kid" Sam said smiling "I'll take care of it. In the mean time, I've got a contract for you to sign. Luigi smiled and said "awesome, after you." They went back into the office and Luigi read the contract. He looked at Sam and said "you want me to sign a three year contract already?" "Yes" Sam said "with that punching power, I've got high hopes for you. You have the potential to be the best." Luigi smiled and signed the contract. "Alright" Sam said "meet me here at noon tomorrow and we'll start training." "Ok" Luigi said. When Luigi got back to the castle, Mario met him at the door and said "I've got good news, me and Peach have decided to only have one date night a week. That way I have more time to hang out with you." "Awesome" Luigi said smiling "what night is your date night?" "Saturday night" Mario said. "The fights are on Saturday night" Luigi said. "So?" Mario said. "I'm in the boxing league now" Luigi said "and it would mean a lot to me if you would come." "I've never been into boxing Luigi" Mario said "besides this way you have something to do while I'm with Peach." "I guess" Luigi said. "So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Mario asked. "I'm meeting my manager at the gym to start training for my first fight" Luigi said. ""Ok" Mario said "that's kind of a solo thing, so I'm just gonna hang out at the castle with Peach." Luigi sighed and said "ok." Luigi trained with Sam every night that week. Saturday night finally came and Luigi was ready. He was in his dressing room shadow boxing. Sam came in and said "come over here for a minute Kid." Luigi walked over and said "what's up, Sam?" "I just wanted to tell you a few things" Sam said "first: the guy you're fighting tonight is Crazy Kevin. Second: there are a lot of people here tonight, don't worry about that. Just focus on the fight. Lastly: save that combo of yours for the knock out." "I have a combo?" Luigi asked. "Yeah" Sam said "whenever you're punching the training mannequin and I tell you to pour it on you always do the same three punches. A right hook to the jaw, a left jab to the jaw and a right uppercut to the chin. That's a great knock out combo, so save it until the end." "Ok" Luigi said. "Time to go" Sam said. Luigi and Sam walked out toward the ring. They went to Luigi's corner There were two seats on the front row by his corner that were empty. "I guess Mario's not coming" Luigi thought to himself. The referee climbed into the ring, grabbed the microphone and said "ladies and gentlemen, tonight's main event is ten rounds of boxing. In this corner, we have Crazy Kevin!" There was a loud cheer. "And in this corner" the referee said "we have the Green Machine!" A few people cheered for him. The bell rang and the fight started. Luigi and Kevin came into the center of the ring. Kevin swung; Luigi blocked it and came back with a hard right jab, hitting Kevin in the jaw. Kevin swung again, Luigi jumped back avoiding it. He lunged forward and hit Kevin with four hard jabs; right, left, right, right, Kevin stumbled back. Luigi stepped forward and hit Kevin with a hard left hook and a right uppercut. Kevin swung and landed a right hook on Luigi. Luigi stepped forward and punched Kevin as hard as he could in the jaw. Kevin wobbled from side to side slightly and hook his head, trying to regain his composure. "Use your combo, Kid!" Sam said. Luigi stepped forward and hit Kevin with a right hook, left jab and a right uppercut. The uppercut sent Kevin to the mat. The referee came over and counted to ten, Kevin didn't get up. The ref grabbed Luigi's wrist and lifted his arm and said "the winner, the Green Machine!" Sam climbed into the ring and said "way to go, Kid!" The next day, Mario picked up the newspaper. He turned to the sports page and was amazed when he read. "Green Machine wins with K.O. The new kid amazed fans and fighters alike with first round knock out against Crazy Kevin. Analyzers say 'keep an eye on that guy, we could crown a new champion if this kid keeps it up' good things are expected from the rookie." Mario looked at the picture of Luigi delivering the knock out punch. "Wow" he said to himself "I'm related to a star." Peach walked in and asked "anything good in the paper?" Mario was about to say something about Luigi, but he decided not to tell Peach she was living with a boxer. "Nah" he said "same old, same old." Week after week, Luigi won the fight and Mario tried to hide it from Peach. Luigi made it to the championship fight. The day before the fight, Luigi called Sam. "Hello?" Sam said. "Hey Sam" Luigi said "I was just wondering who I'm fighting tomorrow." "It's in the paper Kid" Sam said. "I know" Luigi said "but, for some reason I haven't gotten the paper in weeks." "Well" Sam said "you're fighting a guy they call The Crusher." "Is he good?" Luigi asked. "He's a four time champ, Kid" Sam said "but if you fight like you have been, you can take him." "Ok" Luigi said "thanks." "No problem Kid" Sam said "see you tomorrow night." "Bye" Luigi said. Mario walked up and said "hey Weegie, who are you talking to?" "My manager" Luigi said. "Oh ok" Mario said. "Hey Mario" Luigi said. "Yeah?" Mario said. "Tomorrow is the championship match" Luigi said "it would really mean a lot to me if you would come. I'm fighting a four time champion called The Crusher. I got you and Peach the same tickets as always." He handed Mario the tickets. Mario took them and said "thanks Luigi, but like I said, Saturday night is date night and a boxing match isn't really a date. Besides Peach doesn't like fighting, so I don't think she would come." "It's up to you if you want to come or not" Luigi said "I just wanted you to know that it would mean a lot to me, but there's no pressure." "I'll think about it" Mario said. "Ok" Luigi said. The next night, Luigi climbed into the ring and saw every seat full, except two. "I guess he's not coming" Luigi said to himself. "What?" Sam asked. "My brother, Mario" Luigi said "I hoped he would at least come to my title fight, but I guess not." "I'm here for you, Kid" Sam said. "I know" Luigi said "but it's just not the same." The referee stepped into the ring and grabbed the microphone and said "ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the championship match. In this corner we have the current champion, The Crusher!" There was a loud cheer. "And in this corner" the referee said "we have that amazing rookie, the Green Machine!" There was another loud cheer. The bell rang and the fight started. The Crusher swung first with a left hook, Luigi ducked; when he did, he was immediately hit in the chin with a right uppercut. Luigi stepped forward and threw a right hook. The Crusher blocked it and hit him with a right hook, left hook, right uppercut and a left jab. Luigi stumbled back and shook his head. Luigi charged forward and hit The Crusher with a right hook, left uppercut, left jab, right jab and a left hook. The Crusher wiped a little blood off of his lip and charged at Luigi and threw a right hook. Luigi blocked it and threw a left uppercut. The Crusher jumped back, avoiding it. Meanwhile, Mario and Peach were just walking into an Italian restaurant. One of the tickets fell out of Mario's pocket. "What's that?" Peach asked. Mario picked the ticket up and said "it's just something that Luigi gave me, let's go sit down." "Ok" Peach said. Back at the fight, The bell had just rang to end the first round. Luigi and The Crusher went to their corners. "You're doing great Kid" Sam said "keep it up and you're bound to win." Luigi sighed and said "what does it matter? My own brother doesn't care enough to show up. So why should I care?" Sam was shocked and said "you've come this far, don't quit now. You're too good to quit." "I guess" Luigi said. "I'll be right back" Sam said. "Ok" Luigi said. Sam ran to the dressing room and grabbed Luigi's cell phone. He found Mario's number and called him. "Hello?" Mario said. "What's wrong with you?" Sam asked. "Who is this?" Mario asked. "It's your brother's manager" Sam said. "Why do you have Luigi's phone?" Mario asked. "To tell you something" Sam said "Luigi just asked me something I think you should know about." "What did he ask you?" Mario asked. "I told him he was bound to win if he just kept doing what he was doing" Sam said "he looked me dead in the eye and said 'what does it matter? If my own brother doesn't care enough to show up, why should I care?' Your brother has the skill, strength and fire to be the best, but he's about to throw it all away because he thinks you don't care about him." "He knows I care" Mario said "he said it was up to me if I came tonight or not. He doesn't need me there." "Oh yeah?" Sam said "then how come his smile went away as soon as he saw those two empty eats by his corner? Why has he taken more punches in one round tonight than in the last two fights combined? It would mean more than you know if you came to cheer him on, but maybe he's right. Maybe you just don't care. The second round is about to start." Then he hung up. Mario put his phone away. He looked at Peach, who was sitting next to him and asked "do you know what you want to eat?" "Why are we here?" Peach asked. "Um…to eat dinner" Mario said. She looked at him and asked "do you know that you have your phone volume turned up so loud that people close to you can hear the conversation?" "I do?" Mario asked. "Yes" Peach said "now let's go." "Where?" Mario asked. "To the fight" Peach said. "But, I didn't think you liked fighting" Mario said. "I'm not a big fan of it" Peach said "but you need to be there for Luigi, and I want to be there for him too." Mario smiled and said "well then, let's go." They quickly headed for the arena. At the fight, Luigi wasn't doing very good. He was on the mat and the referee was counting. When Mario and Peach ran in, the referee was on five. "GET UP LUIGI!" Mario yelled as he ran in. Luigi looked at Mario and smiled slightly. "I'm here for you bro! Mario said "get up!" Luigi slowly stood up. The bell rang, ending the second round. Luigi went to his corner. Mario ran to the ring and said "I'm sorry Weegie, I should have been here since day one. I'm here now and there's something I want to say. I'm so proud of you, I didn't say it earlier because I was jealous. I tried boxing in high school and I wasn't very good at it. Then out of nowhere you become one of the best boxers the Mushroom Kingdom has ever seen." Luigi smiled and said "thanks bro, I'm glad you're here." The bell rang and Luigi and The Crusher started to fight. Luigi threw five hard jabs right, left, right, right, left. Every punch hit The Crusher on the jaw. The Crusher lunged forward and threw a left hook. Luigi blocked it and used his combo. Right hook, left jab, right uppercut. The Crusher fell to the mat. The referee counted to ten and The Crusher didn't even try to get up. The referee grabbed Luigi's wrist, raised his arm and said "the winner and new champion the Green Machine!" Mario and Peach climbed in the ring with him. Mario hugged him and said "way to go Weegie!" Then Peach hugged him and said "great job!" They handed Luigi the championship trophy. "From now on, we'll be at every one of your fights" Mario said smiling. The next year, Luigi went undefeated and won the championship for the second year in a row. Everywhere he went, people would ask for autographs or wanted to take a picture with him. The next year he went undefeated again. The night of the championship fight came. Sam and Luigi were talking in the dressing room when there was a knock at the door. Luigi opened it to find Mario standing there. "What's up bro?" Luigi asked. Mario smiled and said "I just wanted to wish you good luck and say that me and Peach are here for you." "Thanks Mario" Luigi said smiling. When Luigi climbed into the ring, everybody was chanting "Green Machine…Green Machine" The referee grabbed the microphone and said "ladies and gentlemen welcome to the championship match. In this corner we have the current champion, the Green Machine!" Everyone cheered and clapped. "And the challenger" the referee said "Monster Morgan!" Luigi's eyes widened when he saw a woman step into the ring. Luigi looked at Sam and said "I can't fight her." "Why not?" Sam asked. "I would never hit a woman" Luigi said. "This is boxing" Sam said "no one will think any less of you for hitting a woman here." "I will" Luigi said. He walked over to the referee and whispered something in his ear. "Are you sure?" the referee asked. Luigi nodded. The referee grabbed the microphone and said "ladies and gentlemen, the Green Machine has decided to forfeit the match. He refuses to fight a woman." Everyone booed as Luigi walked out of the ring and back to his dressing room. Sam, Mario and Peach followed him. Sam walked up to Luigi and asked "what's the matter with you?" "I don't hit women" Luigi said. "Well then you can forget that contract extension" Sam said "I manage winners, not quitters!" I am done with you!" Then he walked out and slammed the door behind him. "Don't worry about him Weegie" Mario said "I think you did the right thing." "So do I" Peach said. "Thanks guys" Luigi said with a half smile. The next day at breakfast, Mario was reading the paper. He got to the sports page and said "what the?! Who wrote this?!" "What?" Luigi asked. "You don't wanna know" Mario said. "If it's about last night I do" Luigi said "read it to me." "Ok" Mario said "Green Machine or Yellow Machine? Local boxing legend forfeits championship match for fear of losing to a woman. The man sports analyzers once said was unstoppable is stopped by-" "That's enough" Luigi interrupted. "I'm sorry" Mario said. "It's not your fault" Luigi said. The next day, Mario offered to go to the gym with Luigi to train. Luigi agreed and they headed to the gym. When they got there, people began to boo Luigi. The gym owner came over and said "you're not welcome here anymore. The guy in red can stay, but not you Green Machine. We train winners and legends, not has-beens. Get out!" Luigi turned and walked out. The owner looked at Mario and said "come on, you're welcome to come in here and train." Mario glared at him and said "if my brother isn't allowed in here, why in the world would I want to be in here?" Then he turned around and walked out. He found Luigi dialing a number on his cell phone. He listened as Luigi said "hello, Mr. Commissioner?.. Yes, this is Luigi or the Green Machine…I've been better…it's ok. Anyway, I'm calling to tell you that this past year was my last year. I'm officially retiring…Yes sir, I know I've only boxed three years, but recent events have made me want to retire early…yes sir…thank you…bye." Mario walked over and put his hand on Luigi's shoulder and said "I'm so sorry Weegie." "It's ok" Luigi said. Mario smiled and asked "do you want to go fishing?" Luigi smiled and said "sure, but don't you have a date with Peach tonight?" "We can go on a date anytime" Mario said "today, I just want to hang out with my little brother."


End file.
